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Origin under pressure over emissions
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
ACTIVIST investors have criticised Austral- ian developer Origin Energy’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, saying the com- pany is not doing enough to reduce its emissions.
The company’s board of directors was forced to defend the company’s climate goals at its latest annual general meeting (AGM) on October 16.
Origin published an updated assessment of its generation portfolio ahead of the AGM. Under it, the company said it would reduce its Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) emis- sions by 50% by 2032 from 2017 levels, while also reducing its Scope 3 (value chain) emissions by 25%. The company intends to refocus its power generation portfolio away from coal towards renewables and gas. Origin wants renewables and storage to account for more than 25% of its owned and contracted generation capacity by 2020, up from 19% at present and 15% in 2017.
While the company’s reliance on fossil fuels in its power generation portfolio is a major point of concern for activists, the company’s shale gas devel- opment plans in the Northern Territory were the major sticking point at last week’s meeting.
Contentious meeting
The NT government approved Origin’s civil construction programme at EP117 in the Bee- taloo Sub-basin in June. The permit is one of three – including EP76 and EP98 – in which Origin owns 70%, and Falcon Oil & Gas holds the remainder. Some estimates put the Beetaloo play’s gas resources at 500tn cubic feet (14.16bn cubic metres).
The AGM saw a group of indigenous land- owners express concern over the company’s provision of project information as well as its efforts to consult with them. They have high- lighted concerns over the project’s impact on the regional water table. Origin chairman George Cairns eventually refused further questions about the project from the group.
Shareholder advocacy group the Austral- asian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) lodged resolutions asking the com- pany to seek informed consent from indige- nous landowners, ensure future investments were in line with the Paris Agreement’s climate goals and also to set emissions reduction tar- gets in line with Paris Agreement.
The resolutions failed, however, as they were contingent on the AGM agreeing to amend the company’s constitution. The motion to amend only received 6.78% of shareholder votes – far short of the 75% threshold.
“Let me reinforce the views of your board; the shareholder resolutions have been requi- sitioned by two small groups of shareholders
representing less than 0.02% of Origin’s shares,”
Cairns said. “They do not reflect the views of the
vast majority of shareholders, nor of your board. Australia’s We have said publicly that many of the assertions
lack scientific rigour, peer review or are simply
incorrect.”
Activist opposition against the Beetaloo pro-
ject comes as a leading environmental expert
challenged the company’s support for hydraulic
fracturing in the NT. of CO2e
Point of contention
A report by Emeritus science professor Ian Lowe, of Griffith University, projects that fracking in the NT could contribute about 600mn tonnes per year (tpy) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). In comparison, Australia’s emissions in 2018 amounted to 537mn tonnes of CO2e, according to The National Inventory Report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
An NT government-commissioned inquiry into fracking estimated that emissions from any new large shale gas development would contrib- ute around 6% of Australia’s total emissions. It also found that the risks associated with the drill- ing method could be suitably managed as long as 135 recommendations were implemented.
Lowe estimates are based on Australian gov- ernment data as well as comparisons to the sim- ilarly sized Marcellus shale in the US.
“Approving development of these [NT] resources would have a catastrophic impact on Australia’s efforts to slow climate change, and are totally incompatible with our obligations under the Paris Agreement,” Lowe said. “Five years ago, the Australian Academy of Science said that in order to have a 50% chance of keep- ing the increase in average global temperature below 2 degrees C, the less ambitious Paris tar- get, global emissions need to peak by 2020 and then go steeply down. Given these pollution figures, it would be criminal to allow the gas fracking industry to expand across the North- ern Territory.”™
emissions in 2018 amounted to 537mn tonnes
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 42 23•October•2019